When the Frankfurt/RhineMain region applied for the title of "World Design Capital 2026", many things were still unclear. What can this title actually achieve? What concrete changes could it initiate? Perhaps even what "design" can actually achieve in this context? Questions that have accompanied Barbara Lersch ever since. She joined the team in June 2023 - in the midst of a socially turbulent time - and with the task of shaping a lively agenda as Chief Program Officer. We spoke to her about this for the current issue of Grafikmagazin 03.25 "Festivals & Events".
Looking forward
The World Design Capital (WDC) initiative is awarded by the international organization World Design Organization. It recognizes cities or regions that use design as a strategic instrument for social, economic and ecological development. Following cities such as Helsinki, Mexico City and Lille, Frankfurt Rhine-Main will represent an entire metropolitan region for the first time in 2026. "With the invitation to actively participate in shaping our living spaces and our democracy", the WDC 2026 website refers to its - clearly quite extensive - task.
Design as a method of actively shaping society
And it's not just the size of the project that is proving to be a challenge for the specially appointed team; another, quite banal one is obvious to program director Barbara Lersch: "The world has changed a lot since the first efforts to win the title over ten years ago," she explains in the interview. "Many of the topics from the application have therefore lost relevance - others have become more urgent." Democracy, participation, social justice - these are key concepts today. And this is precisely where the creative power of the project comes in: Design is not just understood as a visual discipline, but as a method of actively helping to shape society - in, despite or even because of a constantly changing world.
Lersch herself originally comes from cultural management and foundation work. For her, the application was a personal step: "I am very intrinsically motivated. For me, this was a rare opportunity to combine social impact with cultural practice." She has been socially involved since her school days, "so at some point you end up in positions like this," she laughs, and you can tell she enjoys her job. She is particularly excited by the fact that the WDC aims to use public funds effectively in order to respond to social challenges.
Communication as an important lever
At the heart of the project is the attempt to bring very different social groups into conversation with each other. The project is funded by the Chamber of Commerce, among others - but what does "business" mean when cultural and social initiatives are to be integrated at the same time? The WDC team is therefore interdisciplinary, the initiative is sponsored by the Design FRM association, supported by the City of Frankfurt, the State of Hesse, the regional association and partners from the business community and the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain. "Sometimes it's about political education, sometimes about the creative industries, sometimes about urban development," says Lersch, explaining the task of bringing different stakeholders together. The diversity of voices is both an obstacle and a potential - and her role is primarily that of a translator and networker.
Communication is a key lever for bringing issues to the public's attention. This was also demonstrated by the collaboration with local players from the design industry and the agency Stan Hema, which helped the team to present complex content in an understandable way. The Berlin agency, known for its work for clients such as the Federal Agency for Civic Education and Amnesty International, stands for brand-strategic processes with attitude that require empathetic and accessible language. The original title "Design for Democracy - Atmospheres for a better life" was simply too abstract for many.
"This must not be a one-off firework display"
Today, the team tries to work with stories and create concrete images. For example, when a design collective designs new spaces together with a homeless shelter. "Projects like the 'Kiosk of Solidarity' are tangible. Everyone understands what it's about," says Lersch. "We try to break new ground through targeted cross-networking. For example, through public get-togethers, repurposing spaces and bringing together local projects, such as Tobias Trübenbacher, who wants to illuminate the cycle path along the Main in a sustainable way. We brought him together with a local cycling project and a mobility initiative." Another example she cites is an empty university building with an art library that can be used temporarily. "It's a great building - the Stiftung Buchkunst can show its 60th anniversary exhibition there, for example. We are looking for smart combinations like this."
And this is particularly important for the public added value of the project, after all, on the one hand it is about developing a program - an exciting, diverse, entertaining cultural festival in 2026. On the other hand, she also sees the task of initiating a movement - with a lasting effect. "This must not be a one-off firework display. We really want to initiate change. I'm trying to do this through networking, a mixture of setting content and bringing people together organizationally." The program is designed to enable both thematic depth and broad accessibility: seven program tracks structure the content horizontally - from participation and education to economic aspects - while ten fields of action such as health, mobility and culture form the vertical axis. The aim: to be accessible to as many people as possible, whether design-savvy or not.
A new context
Participation is not a buzzword, but a lived principle. The Open Call 2024 was a mammoth task - with over 1000 submissions. Around 400 ideas will be pursued, around 200 of which will receive financial support. They range from neighborhood initiatives to concepts from established institutions such as the Jewish Museum or the Schirn Kunsthalle and the WDC's own major events. What is particularly pleasing is that around half of all projects come directly from the local population. "That's wonderful, albeit incredibly time-consuming," laughs Lersch, "because real participation means that we have to grow into the processes. A lot of things only emerge when we do them."
At the same time, the program reflects a change in society: while the focus in 2022 was still on topics such as sustainability, the circular economy and hydrogen, priorities have shifted today. Migration, cohesion, social polarization - these are the hot topics now. And this also changes the context in which the program must be positioned. Especially as much of this will take place in the fall of 2026 - a constant balancing act between concreteness and openness to the process. "Our government has become more conservative, which influences our positioning and our topics," says Lersch. "I started out with a clear set of values, but at the same time I have to remain connectable. That is also part of the reality of such a public project.
"Opening up the concept of design is necessary"
This is precisely where design unfolds its social relevance. Not in the classic sense, as a beautiful product or marketable innovation. But rather as a collaborative process, as a tool for shaping relationships and spaces for living together. "Design can strengthen democracy - but only if we open up the concept," says Lersch. Away from author design, towards collective processes. Away from the ivory tower, towards the neighborhood. "How do we want to live? How do we listen to each other? And how do we design solutions together?" These are the questions that drive her.
Sometimes there is headwind - even from the ranks of traditional design. "Many say: that's no longer design! I understand this criticism. And yet I am convinced that it is necessary to open up the concept of design. This is the only way to make design more sustainable, more effective and fairer." Anna Scheuermann and Matthias Wagner K have therefore published the book "Was kann Design denn schon ausrichten?" (What can design do?) on possible fields of action for the WDC 2026, in which various authors were involved. "To tackle a topic as big as democracy, interdisciplinarity is essential. For me, design is always 'design plus another discipline'. Democracy affects us all, so we have to create interfaces in order to deal with the topic in a truly relevant way."
And what happens after 2026?
What remains is a balancing act: between vision and reality, between participatory openness and the need to become concrete. But perhaps this is precisely the real achievement of the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026: It shows that design can be far more than just shaping - namely social responsibility.
And what happens after 2026? This question was asked repeatedly during the Open Call. "Of course, we can't guarantee it completely. But you can initiate things through visibility and funding," says Lersch. "Our aim is for there to be a kind of office afterwards - that the infrastructure created will continue to be used, for example through a funded position from the city." To prove the impact of the project, all program points are evaluated. If local networks have been demonstrably strengthened and new perspectives on social challenges have been made visible, this will continue to have an effect, says Lersch: "It's also about self-efficacy: even when trying to turn really big wheels, the small cogs in particular can make a big difference."
More about the World Design Capital 2026 on their website, which also presents the projects in more detail
Further information on the reader "What can design do?"
Disclaimer: Instead of the photographer's credit, we inadvertently sent the dummy text to print in the print edition. We apologize for this. The great photos of the WDC 2026 were taken by Frankfurt photographer and photo editor Ben Kuhlmann.
